Isn't love wonderful?
by Narurama1995
Summary: After the 4th great ninja war, Naruto leaves the village to go train with Kurama. During his travels he falls in love with a girl, Yume. How will everyone back home react when he comes back with the stranger?
1. Damsel in distress

**Isn't love wonderful? **

Summary: After the 4th great ninja war, Naruto leaves the village to go train with Kurama. During his travels he falls in love with a girl, Yume. He traveled for a year and a half before finally returning home. Seems he brought an unexpected guest though…

A/N: I obviously don't own Naruto, just a fan with a lot of fantasy and who wants to share those fantasies with all the other Naruto-lovers out there.

First of all if there are any faults when it comes to grammar or spelling I'm sorry. I will do my absolute best to write without mistakes but English is not exactly my first language. I'm Belgian, so I speak Dutch, but my English is pretty good if I say so myself. I'm just telling you all this so at least you'll know why there might be flaws. If you have any questions regarding the story please do ask. I will definitely do my very best to answer all of your questions and don't hesitate to review. I could certainly use advice.  
Some extra info: _Thoughts will be written like this or sometimes I'll use this to emphasize a word. _  
"Spoken sentences like this."  
I will try to update a new chapter as soon as possible but I can't promise anything. I'm quite lazy you see. Anyway enough with the chitchat let's begin with this love story.

**Chapter 1: damsel in distress **

A soft warm breeze rushed over the fields, making the grass dance in the sunlight. A narrow stream of water cut through the flat landscape. Next to the stream stood a big proud tree. The green leaves waved with the wind, taking in all the sunlight they could. The tree casted a big shadow over the earth. And under that tree, laying in the shadows, was a figure. A human figure. The young man looked like he was sleeping, but the faint humming that could be heard proved otherwise. He was laying on his back with his legs crossed and his arms placed under his head. The warm wind played with his long golden hair. His beautiful cerulean eyes were shut. He was humming a soft sweet song. His foot moved with the beat of the song. The young man was only wearing a pair of dark blue ninja pants. His pants was torn in several places and dirty. The rest of his body was also covered in grass and dirt. There were traces of blood on his chest, arms and legs but no wounds were seen. The soft song came to an end. All that could be heard now was the wind playing with nature and the water rushing over underwater rocks. Not much later though the peaceful silence was violently broken by a scream. The blonde teen opened his eyes and lifted his body up a bit. Leaning on his elbows his now visible blue eyes skimmed over the landscape. He was looking in the direction of where the scream came from. Then suddenly another yell reached the teen's oversensitive ears. The scream sounded female. He fluently got up his feet and headed towards the source of the sound. After running for about 5 minutes the blonde reached a forest. There he heard another scream. He was very close now. He kept running towards the noise. Not much later he stumbled upon a bunch of guys and a girl. The teen hid himself in a tree where he had a good view over the scene in front of him. There was a young woman, about his age, surrounded by five guys. She was very beautiful. Nice slender body with a cute face, but the thing that really caught the blonde's eye was her hair. It was the most beautiful hair he had ever seen. The color was as red as blood. It was very long as well, it went all the way to her waist. He thought her eyes were green but he wasn't sure because of the distance. The guys surrounding her were threatening her with kunais and other weapons. The girl was fighting back but she was no match against the 5 bigger brutes. She seemed to know taijutsu but it was lacking. Her clothes were tattered showing too much naked skin. That appeared to be the attackers' goal. Whenever they attacked they destroyed more and more of the redhead's clothes. She was doing everything she could to fight them off and at the same time keep her clothes in place. Tears were rolling down her face. She was terrified. The girl knew very well that she couldn't win. She started to beg. "P-p-please … d-don't. J-just leave me alone." Her sobs and pleas only amused her attackers more. They laughed at her and were making all kinds of rude and inappropriate comments. They were saying what they were going to do to her. Rape, torture,… The blonde stranger in the tree was starting to get angry.  
Suddenly one of the guys attacked the helpless girl from behind. He grabbed her wrists and pulled her hands behind her back. Another guy approached the girl with his kunai. He stopped right in front of her and held the kunai against her neck. "Struggle as much as you want, you can't get away. Just cooperate and maybe we'll let you live." Then he sliced his kunai through her dress from top to bottom. The girl was now completely naked apart from wearing underpants. That was the final drop. The blonde in the tree crossed his hands into an all too familiar hand sign. A second later there were 4 more blondes identical to the original. They jumped down from the tree and each attacked a different opponent. It only took him seconds to take them all out. His clowns poofed out of existence as soon as their opponents were defeated. The girl was sitting on her knees. With her arms across her bare chest and teary eyes she looked at the blonde standing in front of her. Her hero wasn't looking at her instead he was staring at the guy he just took down.  
"well, euhm, are you okay? You're not too badly hurt or anything right?" he asked her without looking at her. _Probably out of respect_, the girl thought. She got back up her feet, still hiding her exposed breasts behind her arms. This guy was really chivalrous. He seemed very kind. She smiled. "Yes I'm fine thanks to you. Arigato. Really I owe you. By the way you can look at me you know I've pretty much covered the … sensitive parts."  
The young man suddenly walked away from her without saying a word. He stopped at one of the knocked out attackers and took his shirt of. Then he walked back with his eyes focused on the ground in front of him. When he reached the girl again he handed her the dirty shirt. She hesitated.  
"Take this. I know it's not clean but it'll have to do. As you can see I'm a little low on shirts myself so I can't give you mine. Just wear this one for now, then we can go to where my stuff is and I can give you one of my clean ones. All right?"  
The young woman blinked a few times and took the smelly shirt. She quickly put it on, ignoring the repelling smell it gave off. It was a big and long shirt, it almost reached to her knees. "Okay, where's your stuff?"  
The boy lifted his head and looked her in the eyes. His previous assumption was now confirmed. She had light green eyes.  
"It's about 20 minutes walking from here." He smiled at her. Just a nice comforting smile.  
"Well, lead the way." She said with a smile of her own. The young man's smile got bigger and with a tiny chuckle he turned around and started walking in the direction where he had appeared from. The girl examined him as she was following him out of the forest. He was only wearing ninja pants. The pants was ripped in some places and dirty. She found that a little bit odd. He hadn't had any problem defeating those guys. He didn't even break a sweat, which means he ruined his clothes before he got at the scene. He wasn't wearing any shoes either. Weirdo. He was fairly good-looking though. He had a long lithe body. He was all muscle but not in a buff way. His long spiky blonde hair almost seemed to shine on its own. As if he had a sun right on top of his head. She saw his eyes before. Big blue eyes. She had never seen such beautiful shade of blue in her life. She had also noticed he had some scarring on both of his cheeks. She had lots of questions for him so she decided to catch up to him. The girl was now walking next to him. He gave her a quick glance before looking back at the horizon. She decided to introduce herself. "Well, my name is Yume Teriyaki. I've been travelling for a couple of weeks now. My village has been destroyed during a raid so I couldn't stay there any longer. I'm on my way to the village of forests. An uncle of mine lives there. But a couple of days ago I got robbed by some guy. He took my bag with all my clothes and other stuff in it. And then today I got attacked by those guys. I really thought that was the end you know, 'till you showed up, thank god. You're a real lifesaver."  
After the waterfall of words was finished she looked at the young man next to her. He had stopped walking and was staring at her with an amused look on his face. "What?" the girl asked. _Was there anything funny?_  
The blonde raised an eyebrow and grinned. "You talk a lot, don't you?"  
She blinked a few times before crossing her arms over her chest in a defensive manner. "So? Is there anything wrong with wanting to have a conversation. I just don't like uncomfortable silences, that's all." She pouted and turned her head to the right. Sticking her nose in the air like a stubborn child.  
The young man chuckled and she looked at him angrily, eyes just slits.  
"I wasn't aware that the silence we shared was uncomfortable. In fact _I _found it quite comfortable." He said with a smile locked on his face. The girl snorted. "Well fine then, I was just trying to get to know you, okay. I figured if I introduced myself you would automatically introduce yourself. Apparently I was wrong."  
The blonde looked at her without saying anything. Then he started walking again. Yume quickly followed, jogging, 'till she was walking next to him again. Suddenly he spoke. "If you want to get to know me, just ask."  
He looked her in the eyes before glancing away again.  
"Just introduce yourself. Your name, where you're going, where you came from."  
Yume was really curious. The guy was an awesome fighter she had seen him in action. His taijutsu was flawless. He was probably a shinobi. Her line of thoughts were interrupted when the blonde started to talk.  
"All right. My name is Uzumaki Naruto. I'm not really going to a specific place, just going wherever the wind may take me. I'm a shinobi from the hidden leaf village."  
They were walking through a field and a big tree could be seen in the distance. A stream of water cut through the land right in front of them. It was about 2 meters wide. Naruto just kept walking as if there wasn't any water at all. He walked across the water and when he reached the other side he turned around to check on Yume. Surprisingly she was walking across the water as well. When she stood next to Naruto she looked up at him (he was about a head taller than her) and saw an intrigued expression.  
"Are you a shinobi as well? 'Cause I've seen you do taijutsu and you obviously know chakra control."  
Yume smiled at him. It wasn't a happy smile though, Naruto noticed.  
"I'm not a shinobi. My father and brothers were ninjas and they thought me some taijutsu and how to control my chakra. I can also perform 2 fire style jutsu but they're pretty weak." They had started walking again. Naruto quietly listened to Yume's story as she went on.  
"I never went to a shinobi academy. I _wanted_ to but my family was poor and such an academy wasn't exactly cheap. The main reason that I couldn't go to the academy though was because I'm a girl. For my father it was very important that all of his sons became shinobi so they would be able to protect our family. Since I had 3 brothers they all had to be able to go to the academy. We were barely able to afford the 3 of them going. That's why it would be too expensive if I went as well. That's also why my father and my 2 older brothers decided to teach me some things themselves. The reason we were so poor is because my father was paralyzed from the waist down. A mission gone wrong. He could no longer take any jobs and since we were a rather big family, we really needed the money. Besides my father and mother and my 3 brothers I also had a younger sister and there was a baby on the way. From then on my brothers were the ones to bring in the money, but they couldn't afford to take any long-term or very dangerous missions since we needed them at home. So they didn't make a lot of money. We managed though. I would occasionally take minor jobs in the village, like babysitting. But then about a month ago, my village was attacked by some thugs passing through. They were very powerful, using all kinds of mind-blowing jutsus. I was in town when the attack started. I hid myself in a nearby shop and waited there 'till everything was over. The village was ruined. A lot of houses and shops were burned down and many people lost their life. I quickly went to my house just outside the village to check on my family, but it was already too late. My house was on fire. It was falling into pieces. My entire family had been home so they all…"  
Tears had started rolling down the girl's flustered cheeks. She wiped her face clean with the dirty sleeves of her borrowed shirt. At that time they had reached the big tree in the middle of the giant field. There was a bag laying in the shadows casted by the tree. Naruto kneeled in front of the bag and opened it. He took out a black T-shirt with short sleeves and dark blue ninja pants. He got back up and handed Yume the clothes.  
"You can wash up in the stream over there and put these clothes on. I'll be waiting here."  
She took the clothes and headed towards the stream. Naruto kept staring at her retreating back. He thought about the story she just told him. _So she's an orphan, like me_, he thought. He walked around the tree and sat down. This way he wasn't able to see her at the stream. Yume noticed it. She saw how Naruto walked around the tree to give her some privacy. He really was a gentleman. Yume smiled lightly and took off the smelly shirt. She threw the thing as far away from her as she could. Then, after looking one last time at the tree just to make sure, she took of her underpants. She lay her underwear and the clean clothes Naruto gave her on the ground. Then she slowly lowered her left foot in the slowly streaming water. Yume flinched because of the cold, but kept going. The water came to her knee. Soon after that her other leg followed. She walked through the water, the further she went the deeper it got. When she was in the middle of the stream the water almost reached her rear. Yume bent over and started rubbing her arms clean with the refreshing water. Then she cleaned her upper body and then her legs. After that she lowered her body until her breasts were under water. She bent backwards so her head would touch the water and started cleaning her hair.  
In the meantime, Naruto had gotten back up to his feet. He checked his arms and chest. He was still covered in dirt and dried blood. He could really use a bath himself. The blonde grabbed his bag and took out a simple white T-shirt and long black ninja pants. Then he sprinted to the left. After a while he stopped and calmly walked towards the stream. It was the same stream as the one Yume was currently washing herself in, but Naruto had made sure there was at least a distance of one kilometer between the two of them. He took off all of his clothes (only pants and underpants) and walked into the water. He welcomed the cold with a smile and immediately went completely under water. He rubbed his arms, legs and chest until he was spotless. He then walked out of the water, swinging his arms back and forth, trying to get as much water off of him as possible. He did the same thing with his legs. Naruto also shook his head, ruffling his hair with his hands, to get the water out. When he was pretty much dry he put on his clean clothes and sprinted back to the tree.  
All the while, Yume was completely clean now and was standing on dry ground next to the stream. She was slightly bent forwards while wringing the water out of her hair. The sun warmed her wet skin, drying her in the process. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the comfortable heat. A couple of minutes later she was almost completely dry. She walked to where Naruto's clothes were laying. She looked down at them and suddenly realized something. She had been wearing that underwear for three days now since her bag had been stolen. She couldn't put on dirty underwear. She grabbed her underpants and drenched it in the stream. Yume thoroughly cleaned her underwear. Then she laid it down on a nearby rock. It was nicely warmed up by the sun. Now she was faced with another problem. She didn't have any underwear. She couldn't just put on Naruto's clothes with no underwear now could she? Yume gazed at the tree.  
"Euhmm, Naruto, are you there?" she screamed to overcome the short distance. No answer. She decided to try again. "Narutooooo." This time she yelled even louder. Still no answer. _Maybe he fell asleep. _The girl slowly and quietly sneaked up to the tree. She placed her hands on the rough surface and walked around it using the tree as a shield. She peeked around the tree, but there was no one there. Naruto was gone. She let go of the tree and walked towards the beige bag laying in the grass. _His bag is still here, but where did he go? _She dropped down next to the bag, which was still open. She looked inside and immediately saw what she came for. _Underwear._ Yume was about to stick her hand in the bag to grab the pair of black boxers when a soft gasp to her right, made her arm freeze in mid-action. She slowly looked up from the bag and saw Naruto standing a couple meters away from her, staring at her with a shocked expression on his face. Yume yelped, grabbing the bag and holding it in front of her naked body. Naruto's eyes widened and he immediately turned his back to her.  
"I'm so sorry. I hadn't noticed you. I …" Naruto's head was beet red. _So embarrassing. Why do I keep seeing this girl naked? _Yume softly spoke. "It's fine, it's my fault, really. Don't worry about it, it's not like you haven't seen anything before." She was embarrassed but it really was her fault, she should have been more careful.  
"Yeah, I saw a bit more now though." Naruto regretted it right after saying it.  
Now it was Yume's turn to blush. "I-I mean … I didn't mean to …" Naruto sighed and dropped his head in utter embarrassment. _Why do I always say the worst possible things to a girl? _Suddenly Yume started chuckling and that soon turned into full-blown laughter. She dropped the bag and crossed her arms over her belly. She couldn't stop laughing. Naruto slowly turned around and gazed at her with a raised eyebrow and a curious expression on his face. She was standing now, slightly bent over, with her arms across her belly, holding her sides. Her entire body was shocking and trembling. She straightened her body and pointed a finger at Naruto. At that moment Naruto could really see _everything._  
"You-y-y-you are s-s-so f-funny." She barely managed to say that one little sentence. Tears were rolling down her face and she was completely out of breath. Naruto couldn't help but chuckle at the scene in front of him. Yume finally started to calm down. She let go of her belly and wiped away the tears of joy. She looked at Naruto holding back the occasional chuckle. Her face was red from the tears and lack of oxygen. Her arms casually hung next to her body and she was fully erect. Which, I repeat, gave Naruto the ability to see _everything._ She was definitely beautiful. She had a long slender body with narrow hips and a cute butt. She had a nice pair of breasts, not too big or too small. A good B-cup. She had pale moon-kissed skin which made her red hair and green eyes stand out even more. Naruto looked her in the eyes before diverting his gaze toward the barely visible stream.  
"Why are you naked? I gave you clothes, didn't I? You lose them or something?"  
He shifted his eyes back to the naked girl.  
"I didn't lose them they're at the stream."  
"Why?"  
"Because I left them there."  
"Why?"  
"I needed something."  
"What?"  
"Underwear."  
Naruto looked at Yume questionably. _Underwear?_  
"You're telling me you don't have any underwear? You were wearing some earlier. Where did it go?"  
Yume snorted. She crossed her arms with an angry demeanor and shifted her weight more to her right leg.  
"I was robbed, remember. I don't have any underwear anymore or clothes for that matter. I've been wearing the one you saw earlier for three days already. I washed it in the river, but it needs time to dry. So I just figured I could loan one of your boxers."  
Naruto had a far-away look on his face while he slowly nodded his head.  
"I see"  
He then approached Yume 'till he was standing right in front of her. He looked down at her and she at the same time looked up. Naruto then suddenly crouched down and started ruffling through his bag, which had been laying at Yume's feet. He pulled out a pair of simple black boxers, holding it in his right hand.  
"Do you want black," With that he raised his right hand, holding the boxer, a little higher. "Or do you prefer white? I'm afraid I left the one with pink hearts at home though." He said it as plainly and coolly as possible, but couldn't help smirking a little bit. Yume clenched her teeth, narrowing her eyes while shooting death glares at the blonde idiot kneeling in front of her.  
"Black's fine, thanks." Was her crabby answer. Yume snatched the black boxers out of Naruto's hand and quickly put it on. She immediately felt a lot safer. Without saying a word she turned around and walked to the stream with a rather fast pace. Naruto watched her hurry away with an amused look on his face. _She's a special one all right! I've never met a girl quite like that. _  
Naruto walked up to the large tree and sat himself down in its shadows. He relaxed, closing his eyes, wandering off to another world. This world was dark and gloomy. There was little lighting. The blonde walked through a long hallway before entering a huge room. There was a lot more light in this place compared to the hallway. On the right side of the room there was a gigantic cage, over 60 meters high and 30 meters wide. The bars of the cage were red and the lock was shaped in a spiral. As Naruto got closer a surge of immense power could be felt, but Naruto wasn't affected by it at all. He stopped right in front of the cage and looked through the broad bars. Inside the cage lay an enormous creature. It had an orange fur and nine long tails, resting next to its colossal body. It somewhat resembled a fox, but there were some aspects that weren't foxlike. Like its ears, they were considerably longer and darker and it didn't really have normal paws. Instead this creature appeared to have humanlike arms with clawed hands. These arms were currently crossed under its heavy head. The usually frightening red eyes surrounded by pitch-black fur were closed. This was the fearsome nine-tails, the Kyuubi. Naruto was still standing outside the red cage, gazing at the immortal demon. He could hear a soft soothing breathing pattern coming from the nine-tails. Naruto had been here, standing in this place, countless times before. He no longer feared this ominous creature. In fact ever since the beginning of the 4th Great Shinobi war he had gotten to know the fox and they even sort of became friends. Naruto let out a barely audible sigh, not one out of frustration or anything but a happy kind of sigh. A scarcely noticeable smile lingered on the corners of his mouth. The blonde slid through the bars  
and closed the short distance between him and Kurama. Even when Naruto was standing right next to the nine-tails' head, the fox didn't budge. Apparently the demon hadn't noticed Naruto's presence. He gently placed a hand on Kurama's muzzle, stroking the rough fur next to its nose.  
"Kurama, wake up. Come on, you sleepy head." Naruto spoke with a low and gentle voice. Just a second later red split eyes opened, glancing at the smiling blonde. His eyes were a little glazed over, still sleepy. The giant fox slowly blinked the sleepiness away and raised its head a little. Naruto followed the motions with his head, now looking up. Kurama spread its jaws as wide as possible and yawned loudly, showing rows of giant and dangerously sharp teeth. Naruto was somewhat amused, watching Kurama. For some weird reason the blonde actually found the way Kurama yawned quite cute. Naruto softly snickered while holding a hand in front of his mouth trying to muffle the sound. Kurama had heard him though and looked at him curiously. The almighty fox felt a little annoyed cause he knew Naruto was probably laughing at him for some reason.  
With a voice that leaked of annoyance and some tiredness he spoke.  
"What …the hell is so funny?"  
Naruto looked up at Kurama, holding back the occasional chuckle.  
"Nothing, nothing, I just thought the way you yawned just now was kinda cute. Like a little innocent fox-cub." Naruto gave the fox his signature smile, all teeth.

The nine-tails blinked slowly and then I mean _slowly._ He gave Naruto an annoyed a look as possible, grinding his teeth at the same time, trying to stay calm.  
"Cute? Like a cub?" Kurama stared down at the smiling blonde who was enthusiastically nodding his head. The grinding of teeth was becoming more and more audible.  
"Are you trying to piss me off?" The fox said through clenched teeth. In response Naruto's smile if possible grew even bigger.  
"Didn't you know? Pissing you of is my soul purpose in life." Naruto watched Kurama expression change from slightly annoyed to pure rage. His booming voice echoed through the spacious room.  
"what! You woke me up just to make fun of me? Get the hell out of here you little brat!" Kurama was on all fours now, chasing the laughing Naruto out of his cage. Ones Naruto was outside of the giant imprisonment he fell to the floor. He was rolling over the floor while gripping his sides. His loud laughter reverberated through the enclosed space. Tears were streaming over his cheeks and his abdomen was starting to hurt. After a while he finally calmed down and slowly pushed himself up in a sitting position. Naruto glanced up at Kurama, who was giving him his scariest death glare. Naruto got back up his feet and started to walk away from Kurama.  
"Gotta get going, thanks for the laugh, Kurama."

The fox snarled at that and watched Naruto disappear. Kurama sighed and his angry demeanor was replaced with a rather sad one. Even though Naruto pestered him a lot, Kurama knew that the boy didn't mean it, that it was just for fun. And quite frankly Kurama didn't really mind either. He had started to enjoy the loudmouth's company. So it was safe to say that even though he had told Naruto to leave, he was sad to see him go. The fox didn't worry about it to much though because he knew that the blonde brat enjoyed his company as much as he did his. Lately Naruto came to visit him every day. Most of the times they just annoyed the crap out of each other, but now and then they had an actual conversation. A couple of days ago Naruto came by looking a bit distracted and completely out of the blue he asked Kurama whether or not he hated him. Kurama had been taken aback by that question and had just started shouting. Saying what a stupid question that was, that he sounded ridiculous. At that Naruto had given him a sad smile before leaving again. Then Naruto didn't visit for a couple of days until today, which was out of his habit. Since he normally visits every day. Kurama laid himself down again and closed his eyes. He started to relax awhile his eyes slowly shut. That day once again, he fell asleep with that question lingering in the back of his mind.  
_"Kurama, do you hate me?" _


	2. Home sweet home

A/N: hey everyone here's the next chapter. Sorry it took so long, school was killing me.  
I've been thinking about all these other possible stories to write as well. Like a Sasunaru fanfic. I have some really good ones in mind. But no worries I won't forget this story, because a lot of things still are to happen with Naruto and Yume.  
**Important note: **as you already know this story takes place after the fourth great ninja war, and every one of you who read the Naruto manga also knows that right now we're still in the middle of it. So right now I have no idea how or if Tobi will be defeated or who he is. I also have no idea what exactly is going on with Naruto and the Tailed Beasts. So everything that I write now and later on will no longer match the story, know that it was written before any answers were given. I'm just fantasizing here. In this story Naruto will have a special connection with the Tailed Beasts. It will be thoroughly explained later on in the story. And something unexpected will happen with Naruto and Yume's relationship.  
By the way between the first chapter and this one there'll be a time skip of about one year. Don't worry, everything (important) that happened in between the chapters will be mentioned in flashbacks or stories told by the characters.

**Chapter 2: Home sweet home**

"Hmmmmmm"

"Aaaaaaahnnnn"

"Nnnnnnnnnnn…."

"Narutooooooooo. Could you stop for a second."

"NARUTO! Slow down, my feet are killing me."  
Naruto sighed exceedingly loud on purpose to make sure Yume could hear him. He stopped walking and looked over his shoulder. The redhead was dragging her feet across the sand road, hanging a little bit forward, swaying from left to right every time she moved her feet. She was obviously over exaggerating 'cause they'd only been walking about 2 hours. Yume looked at him and gave him her cutest and most innocent 'help me' look. She was pouting, her bottom lip was trembling, tears were welling up in her eyes and then she said as soft as she could, her voice almost breaking.  
"Naruto. Please, carry me."  
She blinked a few times, making her eyes sparkle even more.  
_You can't resist me. You can't resist me. You can't resist me. _On the inside Yume was smiling, because she was sure Naruto couldn't resist that look. On the outside she was still pouting and whimpering like a little child. Naruto was observing the scene in front of him, still looking over his shoulder. He then gave Yume his sweetest smile and beckoned her with his head. Yume did as told and slouched up to him. When she reached him, she looked up at Naruto. His beautiful big blue eyes were looking down at her. The smile was still plastered on his face. Yume gave him a weak smile in return which only magnified her act of being really, really tired. Naruto started raising his right arm, slowly. He gently touched Yume's cheek and pushed some loose strands of red hair back behind her ear. His blue eyes, which had been staring into Yume's eyes intensely, shifted to his hand, stroking her hair. Suddenly Naruto pulled his hand back and held it right in front of Yume's eyes. It took her some seconds to focus on the object in Naruto's hand. It was a leaf. Yume blinked a few times, gazing at the leaf and then looked up at the blonde. He was still giving her that adorable smile.  
"This was in your hair"  
Then without another word he turned around and started walking again. Yume was petrified for a moment. _He totally ignored my pleas! That bastard! _  
She decided to try something else. Something Naruto _could not _ignore.  
_Yes, if I do that, he would NEVER ignore me. _  
She narrowed her eyes and a cunning smile appeared on her features.  
"But Naruto, you know…"  
Naruto stopped and looked back again. He was a little worried seeing that disturbing look on her face. _She is up to something. I know it. _  
Naruto turned around and narrowed his eyes as well, awaiting the rest of that sentence.  
"If you carry me the rest of the way, I will give you a blowjob tonight."  
Yume gave him a big smile. She was sure he would carry her now. Who the hell would refuse a blowjob from a pretty girl like her! _I got you now.  
_Naruto raised one eyebrow and gazed at her with an unbelieving look on his face. Then he took a couple steps forward until he was right in front of Yume. He crossed his arms across his chest and looked down at the redhead with a confident smile on his face.  
"What's so special about that? You do that _every _time we have sex."  
Yume was taken aback. A pissed-off look replaced her cunning smile. _Well, he is sort of right about that. Now what?  
_She looked up at Naruto and gave him a really seductive look. She started to play a little with his jacket with her right hand.  
"Well, then I'll give you a really good one."  
"What would be so special about this one then?"  
Yume hesitated a moment and sighed. _Why couldn't I have fallen in love with a normal guy?  
_"I don't know, I'll put some more effort into this one, okay?"  
Naruto raised both of his eyebrows. He had a somewhat stunned look on his face.  
"So are you trying to tell me that you don't put any effort in them otherwise?"  
He was fooling around with her. She was just too easy a target as well. Though he was kind of curious to hear what she was planning on doing with his manhood.  
Yume immediately defended herself.  
"What? Of course I always put effort into them, but this time I will … I don't know. Make it better?"  
"How?"  
"I don't know. More biting?"  
Naruto was shocked for a second. His mouth hung open, his eyebrows raised and his eyes were really big. He was doing his best to hold back his laughter. Then he turned around and started to walk away.  
"Never mind. I don't really feel up for it anyway."  
Yume quickly chased him.  
"Naruto!" she shouted.  
Suddenly Naruto stopped and turned around again. He had a determined look on his face, raised his right arm and pointed at Yume, leaning a little forward.  
"Tell you what. If you tell me you love me without actually using the words 'I love you' and I'm satisfied with your 'confession', I will give you a piggy back ride to Konoha. What do you say?"  
The blonde crossed his arms and stood straight again. He had a _very _satisfied look on his face.  
Yume was a little surprised at first but then she just had to smile. That's right. She didn't fall in love with a normal guy, she fell in love with Naruto. He didn't care about any sexual pleasures she was willing to give him. All he cared about was her feelings towards him. It had always been this way.  
Even though they'd seen each other naked plenty of times, Naruto never made a move. After two months Yume got sick of it and made a move. That's when they had sex for the first time. Afterwards Naruto confessed to Yume, telling her that he had wanted to sleep with her for a while but that he was afraid that she didn't feel the same way and he'd end up doing something he'd later regret. That was also the moment Yume knew for sure that she was in love.  
Yume smiled while remembering those moments. His embarrassed face because he had no idea what to do, his shaking and gentle touches, his soft kisses tracing her body.  
She removed the distance between them within a second, throwing her arms around his body and holding on tight. Because of the force and speed of Yume's embrace Naruto had to take a step back so he wouldn't fall on his butt. Yume was nuzzling his chest and groping the jacket on his back. Naruto was pleasantly surprised and gently embraced her back. Then he heard Yume's voice whispering in his ear.  
"You're my everything, Naruto. I want to hold you for the rest of my life. A life without you in it, is not a life worth living."  
Naruto had to hold back some tears. Those few words pierced his heart. He held Yume tighter and buried his face in her soft red hair. Then he whispered back.  
"Thank you, that was a really satisfying confession."  
He let go of her, cupped her face with both his hands and whispered 'I love you more than anything in the world' right before kissing her. The kiss was over in an instant, but that short kiss had been as warm as the sun. That one quick kiss had carried all of Naruto's feelings for the redhead.  
Yume felt an overwhelming feeling of love for the blonde in her arms. She looked up at him with a dreamy look on her face. He smiled back at her. They let go of each other and Naruto turned his back towards her. He lowered himself a little, holding his arms to his side and looking over his shoulder.  
"Hop on before I change my mind."  
With a smile on her face Yume jumped onto his back and swung her arms around his neck. Naruto intertwined his fingers under her butt and started walking. They walked like that in complete silence, enjoying each other's presence, for about an hour when suddenly Naruto spotted something in the distance.  
"Yume, I can see Konoha now. You think you could walk the last part?"  
The redhead looked up at the arising walls in front of them.  
"Sure."  
Naruto gently put her back on her own two feet and they walked the last 10 minutes side-by-side, hand-in-hand.  
They stopped right in front of the gate. Naruto couldn't help but smile at the sight of his beloved town. He hadn't seen any of his friends in nearly 2 years. He was really looking forward to seeing all of them and introduce Yume to them. After all she was now the most important person in his life.  
Naruto could see the familiar chiseled faces in the distance. All the previous hokages and the current one, watching over Konoha. His gaze lingered at the fourth's face. He grabbed Yume's hand and pulled her inside the village. Once inside he turned around to look at her with a big childlike smile on his face. Yume smiled seeing that smile. His eyes were glittering. It was obvious he had missed the place and was happy to be back. Suddenly he grabbed her shoulder and softly shook her in order to get Yume's attention.  
"Look" Naruto was pointing at something in the distance. Yume looked in the direction he was pointing in. She saw five faces carved in the side of a mountain.  
"That are all the hokages. Starting with the first on the left and ending with Tsunade, the current hokage. Look, there, the fourth one. That's my father."  
Naruto was smiling proudly. Yume was staring at the fourth face. There was definitely a resemblance. But it wasn't very noticeable. Yume once had seen a picture of Naruto's father. They had that same bright blonde hair and the same big blue eyes. Naruto has told Yume many stories about his parents. He says that his looks are mostly from his father accept for the shape of his face and eyes, he had them from his mother. But Naruto's face had sharpened a lot over the last year and a half, he had lost almost all of his baby-fat and now he looked even more like his father. Naruto also had his father's smile and after hearing all kinds of heroic stories about his father, Yume figured that's also where Naruto got his guts, determination, kindness, stubbornness, goofiness and battle strategies from. He might not be a genius like Minato Namikaze was but Naruto was one hell of a strategist in battle. Yume had seen that first hand many times. During their travels they'd encountered many villages which were under the reign of criminals and even though Naruto had no relation nor obligation towards the innocent villagers, he just couldn't let them suffer. He would always rescue them. He was loved and hated by many people across the world. Naruto now had a collection of bracelets on his left arm. Thirteen in total. It had become some sort of tradition. It started about fifteen months ago. Naruto had saved a small village from a bunch of bad guys. There was a little eight year old girl who was extremely grateful because Naruto had saved her parents. So she gave him a self-made bracelet. The bracelet was made from rope and a beautiful green stone. That stone was a kind of stone that could only be found in their village. She said that this way he could always remember their village. Naruto had been very touched by that girl. From then on whenever he saved a village, he and Yume would stay in that village for a while and they would get to know the villagers. The children from the villages were always really curious and they would ask him about the growing amount of bracelets. Every time Naruto told the story of that eight year old girl, Hibiki and then all those kids wanted to do the same thing. Every village they saved would make a bracelet that contained something personal by which Naruto could remember them. Suddenly Yume was snapped out of her thoughts. Naruto was waving his hand in front of her face. Some of the bracelets peeking from under his sleeve.  
"You were spacing of there. What were you thinking of?"  
"Nothing special."  
Yume took a couple steps forward and stopped at a sheer drop. Konoha, which was once leveled with the surroundings was now located more than 100 feet lower. You could see the entire village from where Naruto and Yume were standing. The sides of the pit were shaped like stairs and houses were built on those stair like sides. Yume was amazed. She had heard the story of the hero of the hidden leaf village. Naruto had told her about his legendary fight with Pain and that the entire village had been wiped out by this guy.  
"Whaaa, so this giant hole was caused by that Pain guy?"  
Naruto nodded and added.  
"By one of his jutsus, yeah. The only things still standing were these walls and the houses that are located outside of the walls."  
Yume knew that the only reason Naruto wasn't devastated right now, was because no one had died that day. Because Naruto, Konoha's one and only hero, had saved every one. That was the day Naruto had been accepted by the villagers. The first time that he wasn't judged for being the nine-tails jinchuuriki, but that he was judged by his actions. It still pissed Yume of though. Naruto had told her about the mistreatments he received when he was still just a kid. Even though they might have accepted him now, Yume believed they didn't even deserve a protector like Naruto. For the way they used to treat him they should be kissing his feet and begging him for forgiveness. But knowing Naruto he wouldn't want that. Naruto was like a walking pile of pure goodness. Especially now he pretty much converted that fox into a good guy. Suddenly Naruto's voice caught Yume's attention.  
"Well, let's get down, shall we?" Naruto headed towards the stairs that lead you down to the village, when all of a sudden Naruto halted, making Yume bump into him.  
"What is it? Why'd you stop?"  
Naruto turned around and looked a little worried.  
"Well, I'm gonna head over to Tsunade first, but I'm not sure if I'm gonna be able to squeeze my way through. I mean, I've been gone for almost two years. The villagers will probably be really excited, seeing me again. Maybe I should just disguise myself so I can reach the hokage's tower without being recognized."  
Naruto averted his eyes and was in deep thought, thinking of some strategy.  
Yume walked over to Naruto and placed a hand on his shoulder. The blonde looked down at Yume with a questioning look on his face.  
"It doesn't really matter right? You can't go around disguising yourself in your own village all the time. You should better just get it over with, instead of putting it off."  
Naruto caressed Yume's cheek with his right hand. _God, I love this woman._  
"I was actually gonna disguise myself for your sake. I want you to enjoy the village like it always is, you know. Feel the energy in this place. I don't want you to get trampled to death or something."  
Yume rolled her eyes in respond.  
"Please, I'm not made of glass you know. But I do appreciate you thinking of my wellbeing."  
Naruto narrowed his eyes a bit.  
"This was a _really _cheesy conversation, wasn't it?"  
"Totally."  
Both smiling they grabbed each other's hands and started to descend towards the village.

They hardly encountered any people on their way down. Most of them just stared for a really long time, not saying anything, while others looked as if they'd seen a ghost. Only two young female shinobis went up to them to say something.  
They were two brunettes. One had a ponytail the other had a short spunky hairdo. They were both wearing Konoha headbands. And they both wore ninja clothing as well.  
The girl with the short haircut was the one to talk. Their eyes were big, they seemed mesmerized.  
"Hey, are you Naruto? Uzumaki Naruto? Our hero?"  
Naruto grinned shyly, raising his left arm behind his head, rubbing the back of his head.  
"Aaah well, I'm Naruto yes, but …."  
Naruto wasn't even allowed to finish his sentence because all of a sudden he was showered with questions.  
"Seriously? Where have you been? How are you doing? …"  
The two women were talking at the same time, you could barely understand what they were saying. Naruto didn't get any chances to say something. He was really annoyed but he didn't want to be rude either. The women went closer and closer, they started clinging onto Naruto's jacket.  
"You've become so cute! Do you have a girlfriend?"  
"Marry me, Naruto!"  
"I want to have your baby!"  
Naruto was really taken aback by their words. He didn't know what to say or do. Was he supposed to be offended or flattered? He was just about to panic when suddenly.  
"SHUT IT!"  
A _seriously _pissed-off redhead narrowed her eyes, grinding her teeth.  
The two brunettes gazed at Yume with a surprised look on their faces.  
"Let go of my _boyfriend, _RIGHT NOW!"  
Her face was bright red, she was fuming.  
Naruto gently turned the two women down. They were very let down but continued on their way. He then fixed his eye upon his blazing girlfriend. It was a funny sight. Naruto could swear he saw smoke coming out of her ears. The blonde gave her an apologetic smile and took her hand, pulling her further towards the village. They were almost all the way down.  
"I told you I should have disguised myself."  
Yume didn't answer that instead she was observing the village. The village was bustling and very crowded. Naruto got recognized by almost _every one. _Luckily they were all very respectful. Naruto told them he didn't have a lot of time, because he had to go see Tsunade. They all understood and didn't get in his way. They were all saying how happy they were to have their hero back. Naruto was embarrassed because of all the attention he was given. Even after these two years he still wasn't used to it. Yume found the village very pleasant. The people were so nice, saying kind words. That made Yume all the more confused. How could these nice and well-behaved people ever do cruel things to a little boy? _I guess fear and anger can make people capable of doing unthinkable things.  
_Yume could see the hokage's tower in the distance, they were about halfway there.  
Naruto squeezed her hand and opened his mouth to say something when all of a sudden a low voice called his name from behind them.  
"Uzumaki Naruto."  
Naruto and Yume turned around and immediately found the source of the voice. It was a boy, about the same age as Naruto with brown hair tied together into a high ponytail. He was wearing ninja clothing and also wore a jounin vest. His eyelids seemed heavy. It was almost as if he was going to fall asleep standing.  
"Shikamaru Nara?"  
Surprisingly enough it wasn't Naruto who said that, but Yume.  
Shikamaru raised his eyebrows and gazed lazily at the excited redhead, standing next to Naruto.  
"Yeah, and you are?"  
He spoke with a sluggish pace, showing no interest at all.  
This time it was Naruto who opened his mouth.  
"This is Yume Teriyaki. She's my girlfriend."  
That definitely spiked the lazy shinobi's interest.  
"You're girlfriend? You actually found a girl who can stand you?"  
Yume would have scolded the brown haired genius if it wasn't for the faint smile lingering on his features. She could tell he was just joking.  
Naruto rolled his eyes and smiled as well.  
"I think it might be the other way around."  
Yume raised one eyebrow at that and _slowly _ turned her head to the side so she could look at the blonde.  
"Excuse me?"  
She said that very slowly and softly, her eyes mere slits.  
Naruto felt seriously threatened for a moment and decided it would be best (for his sake) to make peace.  
"Just kidding, you're a wonderful person. Any man would die to have you."  
Yume wasn't really convinced but she decided to let it slide this time.  
She turned her head to look back at Shikamaru who seemed to be somewhat amused but mostly confused.  
Yume shortened the distance between them and Naruto just followed her. She grabbed Shikamaru's hand and shook it, but then after a second thought she just gave him a quick hug. The genius was a little surprised but didn't dislike it. For some reason Shikamaru couldn't help thinking that this girl might actually be the female version of Naruto. The thought kind of scared him a bit.  
"It's really nice to meet you Shikamaru. I heard so much about you."  
Shikamaru gazed at Naruto.  
"Really?"  
He looked back at the smiling girl who was by the way still holding his hand. Shikamaru stared at their intertwined hands, clearing his throat a couple times. Yume quickly let go of his hand as soon as she realized the meaning behind his signals.  
"Yeah, Naruto told me about you, about everyone. He told me you're a genius who always comes up with watertight plans and that you're from the Nara clan which uses the shadow techniques."  
Shikamaru smiled.  
"Looks like you did your homework."  
Yume smiled proudly. To her it was very important to know as much as she could about Naruto's precious friends.  
"Anyone who is important to Naruto, is important to me. I really want to get to know everyone and I hope everyone'll accept me."  
Shikamaru was pleasantly surprised. _It looks like Naruto means a lot to this girl. And the way Naruto has been looking at her she means a lot to him as well. _  
"Looks like you _really_ love each other."  
Naruto and Yume glanced at each other with loving smiles. The intensity of that moment petrifies Shikamaru. Their love for each other seemed to radiate from their bodies. _Is it even possible for two people to love each other this much?_  
Yume looked back at Shikamaru and gave him a part of that loving smile still lingering on her face.  
"You don't really have to be a genius to see that."  
Yume placed her arm around Naruto's back and he placed his arm around her shoulders, giving her a soft kiss on the top of her head.  
Again Shikamaru was touched. He was pleased to see that Naruto seemed genuinely happy.  
"I guess not. Anyway where're you heading?"  
"We're going to see Tsunade. It's about time I visited the old hag again."  
"Yeah, she really missed you, you know. Even though she would never admit that."  
Naruto nodded at that.  
"I know."  
Shikamaru placed his hands in the pockets of his pants and took on a casual pose.  
"Shall I walk the way to the hokage's tower with you?"  
Naruto shook his head.  
"Actually I wanted to ask you for a little favor."  
Shikamaru raised his eyebrows and signaled for Naruto to continue.  
"Do you think you'd be able to gather everyone?"  
"Gather everyone?"  
"Yeah, you know. Everyone who's important to me. I really want to see everyone again and introduce them to Yume."  
Shikamaru seemed in deep thought.  
"I see. I guess I could do that. For tonight or …?"  
"No no, for tomorrow afternoon, around two o'clock or something. Just tell everyone who is able to come to gather at one of the training grounds. We can catch up and maybe afterwards go eat barbecue. I'll pay."  
"Chouji will be delighted, but sure I'll do that. By the way, do you have a lot of fan girls now?"  
Naruto scratched the back of his head and smiled in an apologetic way.  
In the meantime Yume's eyes narrowed just a little bit.  
"Well, I seem to be getting a lot of confessions these days."  
Shikamaru glanced at Yume now and asked her.  
"Are you okay with that? Having such a famous boyfriend. He'll probably be surrounded by many fan girl in the near future."  
Yume turned her head and looked at Shikamaru. She gave him her sweetest smile and then said with a calm voice.  
"If he lets any of those girls touch him, I'll castrate him."  
With that she left the stunned boys and headed towards the hokage's tower.  
Naruto unconsciously held his hands in front of his manhood and cleared his throat.  
Shikamaru swallowed noticeably.  
"Well, she seems …euh…charming."  
Naruto sighed.  
"Are you kidding me, I could almost _taste_ the venom just now."  
Shikamaru nodded.  
"Yeah, she's terrifying."  
"You have _no_ idea."  
Shikamaru patted Naruto on the shoulder.  
"Well, she's a woman. They're all scary."  
Naruto hung his head and sighed again.  
"This scary?"  
"Yeah, just wait 'till they have kids. It gets ten times worse."  
Naruto looked Shikamaru in the eye, panic written all over his face.  
"Ten times? Seriously? I won't survive that!"  
"NARUTO!"  
Both boys jumped up as if they'd been caught red-handed.  
Yume was standing several feet away from them, her hands placed in her sides. Her right foot was tapping the ground impatiently. She looked like a mother scolding her child.  
"Coming, coming."  
Naruto headed towards the redhead when Shikamaru's voice made him stop and turn around.  
"Are you really serious about her Naruto?"  
The brown haired shinobi looked serious. Naruto smiled at him and nodded.  
"She's the one, Shikamaru."  
Shikamaru's features softened a little. He could see in Naruto's eyes that he really meant what he just said.  
"Then I'm really happy for you."  
Naruto smiled at that, turned around and sprinted towards Yume, grabbing her hand. They walked like that, hand-in-hand, on their way to see Tsunade.  
Shikamaru turned around and started heading in the direction of Chouji's house.  
He once again put his hands in his pockets. He was still smiling.  
It looks like Naruto really did find the one.  
Shikamaru's smile didn't last very long though, because a certain person just crossed his mind.  
_Looks like things might get pretty lively around here.  
_Because Shikamaru knew that there was at least one person who would not at all appreciate the pretty redhead's arrival.  
A certain pink haired kunoichi.

Well this is it for chapter 2. I hope you liked it and you still want to read more. Again, if you have any questions, just ask. I will try to answer them. Can't really say when chapter 3 will be up, but I have a feeling you won't have to wait that long.


	3. A new old place

A/N: heey everyone, here's the thirth chapter. My imagination is running wild and I'm already picturing many different scenes and outcomes. I've got a pretty good idea what to do with Sakura and (as pointed out by Ronin Kenshin, I totally forgot about her, sorry) Hinata. I have no idea how long this story will get, but the longer the better, I'd say. I'm really glad I made my readers laugh. And I'm sorry there weren't any Kurama scenes in the second chapter. I will try to squeeze him in into this chapter, but I can't promise anything.

By the way, I have uploaded two picture on my profile. They're edited (by yours truly) so I can't give original links and stuff. I basically 'made' Naruto and Yume the way I picture them to look like in this story.  
Now let's continue, shall we?

**Chapter 3: A new old place **

Naruto and Yume halted in front of a white door. Behind this door sat the current blond hokage, probably drinking sake and acting completely un-hokage-like. Naruto had come to see the old hag as a mother figure, or more like a grandmother. She meant a lot to him and Naruto knew it was the same the other way around. But as Shikamaru pointed out she doesn't often show her true feelings so that's why Naruto was pretty nervous at that moment. He knew he'd probably have to undergo a _huge _lecture, maybe get some things thrown at his head, potential death threats. After all he hadn't shown his face around here in almost 2 years, nor had he let her know anything about his whereabouts or how he was doing, even though he had promised to do so. So it's safe to say she was probably gonna be really pissed. But who knows, maybe she'd be so happy to see Naruto she'd totally forget to get angry at him.  
Naruto sighed heavily, hanging his head. _Yeah, like that's gonna happen. _  
Yume noticed the depressed sigh and sighed as well. Not out of desperation like Naruto but out of frustration. She grabbed Naruto by the shoulders, turned him to face her and shook him a little.  
Whispering to make sure they weren't heard from the other side of the door, she started talking to him. Naruto looked up at her.  
"Get your head out of the sand, will you. You look like a guy on death row. I'm sure she's not going to kill you. I've heard the stories about how scary she is, but come on. It can't be that bad. "  
The blond made a questionable face, biting his bottom lip.

"She doesn't easily frighten me, really. I constantly annoy the crap out of her and most likely am the cause of a lot of extra paperwork, which she _hates._ But I am kind of nervous right now cause I haven't seen her in so long and I promised to inform her now and then how my training with Kurama was going, that actually was one of the conditions I had to follow in order to get permission to leave the village to train. So she'll probably be pissed."

Yume snorted without making a sound.  
"Well, then you brought it upon yourself. So stop whining and get this over with already."  
Naruto gazed at Yume, pouting. _That girl has such a foul mouth, but then again that's one of the things I love about her.  
_Smiling, Naruto swung his arm around Yume's shoulders, pulled her closer and kissed her on the crown.  
"Alright, let's do this."

Without a warning or a knock on the door, the blond turned the doorknob and the door swung open.  
"Heay, Old hag, Shizune, long time no see. How've you been. I've been doing great. The training was a success, but I'll tell you about that later. Gotta run, bye."  
Naruto said all that in one breath. Right after finishing his one-sided conversation, he turned around and started leaving.  
"WHERE THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING. Get your ass back here, RIGHT NOW!"  
Naruto stopped death in his tracks, tensing up. The booming voice surprisingly enough did not come from Tsunade but instead it came from Yume. He turned around only to see a fuming redhead with a face that was almost as red as her hair.  
Without a second thought Naruto followed the girl's orders. He didn't exactly have a death wish.  
Naruto switched his attention towards Tsunade and Shizune since they hadn't said a word from the moment they invaded their office. The scene in front of him was quite laughable.  
Both women were completely frozen in mid-action. Tsunade was holding a dango in one hand, about to put it in her mouth which was opened, waiting for the long forgotten dango. In her other hand she was holding a cup that probably contained sake. Shizune was about to put down a huge stack of paperwork, but that stack had been hanging an inch above the desk for a while now. Naruto didn't really know how to position himself so he just stood there, fidgeting with his hands.  
Slowly but surely the two female statues started to move again. Shizune finally put down the stack of paperwork, slowing backing away, her big eyes never leaving Naruto. In the meantime Tsunade put down the cup and the dango, slowly crossed her arms under her chest, pushing her melons slightly higher and tighter together and leaned back in her chair. All the while with a stoic expression on her face.  
Her eyes roamed over Naruto as if to check whether he was actually whole or not. The blond was getting more and more nervous by the minute. Yume on the other hand was very relaxed. She was examining the office, which was kind of messy. Her eyes lingered at the pictures of all the previous hokages, more specifically at the fourth's picture. She shifted her gaze from the picture to Naruto and then again to the picture. Naruto really looked exactly like the fourth. Besides the scars and the hairstyle, they could have been twins. How could people not notice it?  
Yume's line of thoughts was interrupted, because the blond hokage decided to speak up, so Yume directed her attention towards her.  
"Naruto … how nice of you to drop by. It's a relief to see you're not death. If I recall correctly…"  
Tsunade straightened her back, leaning on her desk.  
"… one of the conditions you had to follow was that you'd come back every month and give me an update of how your training with the ni…"  
Tsunade stopped talking, remembering that there was a strange girl present, now looking at her. An outsider obviously, and this was an SS-class secret 'mission', so the girl wasn't allowed to know about it. Naruto noticed that Tsunade had stopped talking and was staring at Yume, so he decided to quickly break the ice.  
"Oh don't worry about it. She knows everything about Kurama and my training with him."  
The blond hokage shifted her gaze to Naruto now, not feeling comfortable about this.  
_He told a stranger? Who is this girl?_ Tsunade decided to ask him straight out.  
"Who is this girl?"  
Naruto looked from Tsunade to Yume and back to Tsunade.  
"Ah well, this is Yume Teriyaki…. . she's my girlfriend."  
It was like a silent bomb had exploded. Tsunade's mouth was halfway open, frozen in that state and her eyes were wide open. Shizune's mouth hung completely open, eyes just as wide as Tsunade's.  
They both thought similar things.  
_A girl this pretty is Naruto's girlfriend? She can actually stand him?  
_Naruto didn't know why but for some reason he felt like he should feel offended and he narrowed his eyes a little bit. Yume didn't really get their reaction. Was it that weird for Naruto to have a girlfriend?  
(A/N: Yume knows Naruto for only one year and a half, so she's only known his more mature, powerful and heroic side, not his foolish and childish self like when he was twelve. The people in Konoha know an entirely different Naruto, then what he's like now.)

Tsunade blinked a few times, finally getting over the initial shock and needing some confirmation.  
She gazed at the beautiful girl. _Seriously, how could anyone be so pretty?_  
"Is he serious?"  
Yume grabbed Naruto's hand and squeezed it.  
"Yes, I am his girlfriend. You have a problem with that?"  
Tsunade snorted, but liked the girl's attitude. Her hard features changed into a small smile. She shifted a little in her seat, placed her elbows on her desk, folded her hands and rested her chin on her hands.  
"How long have you been together?"  
Naruto smiled and waved with his hand.  
"I'd love to stay and chat but I actually want to show Yume around tonight. You know, go sightseeing. I met up with Shikamaru earlier and I asked him to gather everyone tomorrow in the afternoon. Then I can tell you everything you want to know. I don't know the place or the exact time of the gathering yet but I'm sure Shikamaru will inform you later today. So we'll be going now, I'll see you both tomorrow."  
Naruto already started to turn around but immediately stopped when his eyes met with Yume's.  
She squinted at Naruto, her arms crossed over her chest. Naruto sighed inwardly.  
"What?"  
Yume's eyes narrowed even more, grinding her teeth.  
"You're being disrespectful towards your superiors. Not to forget you're using me as an excuse to get out of here."  
Naruto stuck out his lips a bit, with a somewhat confused look on his face.  
"Whaaaat? But you want to see Konoha too, don't you?"  
"Yes, but that doesn't mean you have to threat the _hokage_ like that. When you're hokage, how would you feel if someone, even though you know that person well, threated you like that?"  
The blond opened his mouth to say something but nothing came out.  
He huffed and pouted, crossing his arms over his chest as well. He then mumbled something but it was too quiet to hear.  
"What was that? I'm afraid I didn't hear, speak up."  
Yume looked like a scolding mother…again.  
Naruto sighed. "I said no"  
He kept his gaze directed to his feet. Yume leaned forward, whispering.  
"Then maybe you should apologize, don't you think?"  
Naruto looked up at her, she was smiling at him. _How could I refuse?  
_The blond turned back towards Tsunade but was too ashamed to look up at her.  
"I'm sorry, old hag, for talking to you like that. I should have known better."  
Naruto gazed up at her, only to see Tsunade smile at him. It was a small smile, but still a smile nonetheless. Her eyes had a somewhat loving expression. _  
He has changed, no, he has matured. Would this girl be responsible for that? Maybe she has a good influence on him.  
_"It's fine really, I know you well enough to be aware of the fact that almost everything that leaves your mouth should not be taken too seriously."  
This time Yume's death glare was directed towards the blond hokage, instead of the blond idiot.  
Tsunade was just a little taken aback by that look, but despite that her smile grew even bigger.  
_Interesting girl.  
_"Nevertheless I'm glad you seem to have matured a little bit at least. Although I would appreciate it if you could drop the 'old hag', don't you agree?"  
Naruto snorted rather loud, crossing his arms once again.  
"You know, wishful thinking really doesn't suit you."  
Tsunade's smile melted of her face like snow on a hot summer day.  
"So that's a no?"  
"Indeed it is."  
"A definite no?"  
"Yes."  
"Are you sure?"  
"Very."  
Tsunade took an audibly irritated, deep breath.  
"Well, I guess some things just don't change."  
Naruto shrugged his shoulders with a mischievous grin on his face that reminded the two older women of the twelve year old goofball he used to be. They both smiled, remembering those times.  
"You can go now, Naruto. Shizune and I will be at the gathering tomorrow. I'll be looking forward hearing everything about your relationship. Now go enjoy your sightseeing trip. Oooh wait before I forget."  
Tsunade started rummaging around in one of her desk drawers, until she found what she was looking for. She stepped around her desk and stopped in front of Naruto. Tsunade's crown barely made it to Naruto's chin.  
"Cheez, I hope your brain grew as much as your body."  
Naruto was about to counterattack that comment but was stopped by the object dangling in front of his face. He opened his hand, held it under it and Tsunade dropped it in his hand.  
The blond stared at the object with an uncertain face.  
"A key? Why … What's it for?"  
"It's a key to your new place."  
Naruto's head jerked up.  
"My new place? What happened to my apartment?"  
Tsunade made a face that said 'are you frickin' kidding me'  
"It got blown up by Pain, remember."  
Naruto gasped for air, completely shocked by his own stupidity.  
"Oh right. I wasn't really thinking, I guess."  
"Apparently not. Anyways you might have some cleaning up to do, the place hasn't been looked after in almost … eighteen years."  
The blond was a little confused.  
"So it's not one of the new houses?"  
Tsunade shook her head.  
"No, the house is located outside of Konoha walls, but is still on Konoha grounds."  
Naruto nodded slowly, letting the information sink in.  
"Okay but why are you giving _me_ that house?"  
Tsunade smiled at him.  
"Because it's yours. Normally I wouldn't have given you this key before your eighteenth birthday but since that's in six months and you currently need a place to stay…"  
Naruto narrowed his eyes. Next to him Yume was also burning up from curiosity.  
"I'm still not quite following. _Why _is it my house? What's so special about it?"  
The blond hokage's eyes softened visibly.  
"Because it was built by your father."  
Naruto blinked a few times, unconsciously leaning back a bit.  
"Minato spent several years building that house for him and your mother, before he became hokage. They were able to live there barely a year before… you know."  
Tsunade paused for a moment, letting all the information sink in.  
"According to your parents' will, in case they died, everything that belonged to them, their house, money and personal belongings, goes to you from the moment you turn eighteen. However as I just said, you currently need a place to stay, so that's why I'm giving you the house now."  
Naruto had been staring at the key he was holding from the moment Tsunade told him the house was built by his father. He had never known there was such a place. If he had known he would have searched for it long ago. The blond was too shocked to say anything and swallowed hard. Pictures of his parents flashed in front of his eyes. Suddenly Naruto could detect a deep sorrow and a feeling of regret and remorse that didn't come from him.  
_Hey Kurama, does this feeling come from you? Cause if it does could you please stop it, it's frickin' depressing.  
_The fox didn't answer, but the feeling did ebb away. It wasn't hard to figure out what just happened. It reminded Naruto of something that happened over a year and a half ago, when he asked Kurama whether he hated him or not.

_-*∞*-_-*∞*-_ (flashback)

Naruto walked into the giant dim room and went straight to the just as giant cage that contained one of the nine chakra monsters, known as tailed beasts. (A/N: dramatic beginning hihi )  
Without hesitating he walked through the bars and approached the huge orange fuzz ball laying at the back of the cage.  
"Hey Kurama. You sleepin'?"  
The nine-tailed fox grunted, lifted its head and looked at his blond container.  
"Me, sleeping? In this place? Why would I? The things you can do in here are endless. Now why would I waste my time with sleeping?"  
Kurama was being overly sarcastic and basically just joking, but the reaction he received from the blond was not what he was looking for.  
Naruto hung his head and was extremely saddened. A dark and depressing aura was dripping from his body.  
"I was kidding Naruto. Don't take me so seriously."  
Naruto lifted his head and gazed at Kurama.  
"You're still angry at me, aren't you?"  
The fox was confused. He wasn't angry at all. At that moment he was actually quite happy seeing that it had been days since he last saw Naruto. He was glad that Naruto was paying him a visit, that he could talk to someone.  
"Why would you say that? I'm not angry at you."  
Naruto came a little closer and sat down cross-legged.  
"It's just… . You practically chased me out of here a week ago. So …"  
Kurama sighed and placed his head back on his forearms to be on more of an eye to eye level.  
"Yeah, well you called it upon yourself. Asking stupid questions."  
Naruto looked up at Kurama now with a fierce look in his eyes.  
"It's not a stupid question. It really bothers me, you know. I mean, how can you not hate me. You are forced to live inside of me, in this cage. You have no freedom, you can't do what you want. You can't see all the beauty this world has to offer. You must hate me for being stuck inside of me."  
Naruto's hands were resting in his lap. He was staring at them, fidgeting with the fabric of his pants.  
The blond's line of thoughts annoyed the crap out of Kurama but he was glad to know now what exactly had stirred this question up. Also he was once again surprised by the huge compassion and worry this kid felt for the demon. Kurama frankly had a hard time dealing with it. He had never had a container who felt bad for him being imprisoned like this. And of all three cages he had known this was by far the best. He could move around and had someone to who cared for him. Kurama over time had learned to care for this blond idiot as well. And he now realized that he hates to see the blond sad and hurt. Kurama silently moved one of his tails, wrapping it around Naruto. The tip of his tail was laying in Naruto's lap. The blond in response folded his body in two, leaning forward and laying down on the thick orange fur. The softness of the tail and the heat that radiated from it, suited the teen. He closed his eyes and started to relax. When he was almost half asleep, Kurama started talking. His low and harsh voice kept Naruto awake.  
"I don't hate you, Naruto. You're an idiot for thinking that. … Sitting in this cage all day is boring, but you're not responsible for putting me her. Not that I blame your father, I used to, but he _was _just protecting his people after all. And neither you nor your father were responsible for putting me inside your mother, Kushina, or before that into Mito Uzumaki. If anyone is to be blamed for my imprisonment it's Madara Uchiha. He was the one who summoned me to fight alongside him against your first hokage. And when the first saw the extent of my power he decided that my power was too great. That I was too dangerous to roam about on this earth. So he captured me and sealed me inside his wife, Mito. That's what started this line of Uzumaki containers. If that damned Uchiha hadn't summoned me, I wouldn't have been captured. That's what I thought for a very long time, but I have recently come to terms with all of this. If it hadn't been the first hokage to capture me and seal me away, I would probably have ended up in someone else's hands….  
You should know, Naruto, I'm glad that out of everyone…_you_ are my container. You _saved _me. You managed to take away all the hatred and anger bottled up inside of me and to be honest, even though I am stuck inside your body, I have never felt this _free._  
And when it comes to all that beauty you were talking about…I've been on this earth for hundredths of years. I've seen and experienced my share of beauty in this world, in this life. I don't mind seeing the last of it from inside your body."  
That last part confused Naruto. He lifted his head a bit to look at Kurama.  
"What do you mean, 'the last of it'?"  
Kurama sighed heavily.  
"Like I said, I've been alive for a long time. A tailed beast like me, is initially immortal. There's not a lot that can kill us. One thing though that _can _kill us, is to be sealed away inside a mortal container and then to die along with that container. I'm growing tired Naruto. I'm growing tired of this world and the people inhabiting it. If it's not too much to ask, I would like to die with you, when your tile comes."  
Naruto was shocked. Kurama wanted to die? He was sick of life, sick of being used of being trapped.  
"You don't want to be extracted from me when my time to die comes?"  
It wasn't very obvious, but Kurama slightly shook his head.  
"I want to be _free_ again, Naruto. The way I see it, I never will be as long as I stay in this world. Maybe if I go to the other side I can finally truly be free."  
Naruto sat back up, his hands resting on the fox's tail.  
"Why wouldn't you be able to be free again in this world. Once you're extracted from me …"  
Kurama interrupted Naruto before he could say more.  
"I will _never _be able to be free in this world, no matter how you think about it. When I'm extracted from you, there will be a short period of freedom, but sooner or later, people will come searching for power again. It won't be long before I end up in the exact same situation once again. And you know, even though all the other tailed beasts, aside from Gyuki (eight-tails), are currently free again, they too will be hunted down and captured eventually. There's no way we can be free in this world. There's no way shinobis will stop seeing us as weapons or sources of immense power, they will never stop using us, regarding us as disposable tools. So I rather die with you, someone who actually has the best interest in me, than to be used as a tool again."  
Naruto swallowed hard and stared at the orange fur in his lap. As much as Naruto hated to admit it, Kurama was probably right. People all over the world would go after him again, if they knew he was free. Free to be captured and used. That also caused Naruto to worry about the others. What if someone goes after them and captures them again. Naruto couldn't let that happen. He saved them during the Fourth Great Ninja War. He felt extremely responsible for them and wanted to help them no matter what. They were his friends after all. You can't abandon a friend.  
Naruto decided to drop this topic for now. They would probably still have years to talk about this. It was no urgent matter.  
"Well if dying is what you want, fine. It's your choice after all."  
Kurama stayed silent for a long time, while Naruto was fidgeting with his tail. The giant fox found that gentle touch very pleasant.  
"You know Naruto since you brought it up. Do _you _hate _me_?"  
Naruto stopped fiddling with Kurama's tail and looked up at him.  
"I mean, seeing that I'm sort of responsible for your parents' death and the deaths of a lot of Konoha citizens. You should hat me, right?"  
Naruto snorted and gave Kurama a small smile.  
"I don't hate you at all. You're actually one of the few I really thrust. Your also not responsible for my parents' death. That was Tobi, since he extracted you from my mother, causing her death. And my dad chose to use that jutsu, knowing it would kill him. Even though my life, growing up was harsh and painful. I was treated like a monster, a nuisance. Growing up without parents was lonely and …  
But you know despite all that I know now that my parents did love me, that they wanted me. That is enough for me. I made some really good and reliable friends, who accept me for _me._ Friends who accept _all _of me, including you. I don't hate you. I don't … Your my friend, my comrade."  
Naruto gave Kurama his signature smile, all teeth, and started fidgeting with his tail again. After a while Naruto fell asleep surrounded by the warmth of several long orange tails.

_-*∞*-_-*∞*-_ (end of flashback)

"Hello, anyone in there?"  
Naruto blinked a few times, focusing on the hand waving in front of his face. He looked at Yume, who withdrew her hand as soon as she captured Naruto's attention.  
"Finally, you were spaced out for a sec. Was it Kurama?"  
This, unbeknownst to the young couple, captured the two other women's attention.  
"No, I just remembered something, that's all."  
Naruto shifted his gaze towards Tsunade.  
"Can we go now. There's still a lot I want to show Yume and I really want to go see the house."  
Tsunade nodded, went back to the drawer where the key had appeared from and then came back with a piece of paper.  
"Here this is a little map of Konoha, showing you where the house is located. I will see you tomorrow."  
Naruto took the paper from the blonde hokage, said his goodbyes and left the office with Yume by his side. They strolled through the hallways 'till all the way outside in complete silence. Once they were standing in front of the hokage tower, Yume decided to break the silence.  
"So where are you taking me first?"  
Naruto looked down at Yume, giving her an apologetic smile.  
"I'm sorry. I'm gonna have to postpone that sightseeing tour for a bit, if you don't mind."  
Observing the piece of paper Tsunade gave him, Naruto started walking.  
"Let's go and see our new old place, shall we?"  
Yume caught up with Naruto, wearing a big smile. Once she reached him, she grabbed his hand, interweaving their fingers.  
"Let's go."  
It took them almost half an hour to get to the wall and finally step outside the bustling city. Yume still wasn't used to big crowds. Luckily there were only a few people who stopped them to talk to Naruto. Most of the times it was to confirm, that it actually _was_ Naruto.  
After they left the city, they had to walk through a forest for about 15 minutes. They came across a small waterfall once and a tiny lake as well. Then finally in the middle of the forest, there was a house. It was surprisingly big. It seemed to be a two-story house, maybe with an attic.  
The house might have been white once but over the years plants started to overrun the place and it now looked green. The door was blue, but the paint was fading. They approached the house when suddenly Yume tripped over something.  
Naruto pulled her back up, inspecting her body for any injuries. It turned out it was an old fence she had tripped over. It surrounded the house but most of it had fallen down. The front of the house had three windows. One big one on the first floor and two smaller ones on the second floor. One of the windows upstairs was broken, the others were just covered in dirt. Naruto noticed there were tiles on the ground here and there. There probably used to be a path, but it was hidden underneath all the vegetation. They reached the door and Naruto took the key out of his pocket.  
"I hope I can still open this door with the key."  
He cleaned out the lock which was inhabited by green stuff and some unidentified creatures. He then forcibly pushed the key inside and turned it. Luckily the loch turned. The door still needed a serious push though in order to be opened. They walked inside a short hall that was connected to the living room. The place was covered in dust and spider webs.  
The living room was big. There was a cough, color unknown; a low table with at least an inch of dust an some cabinets placed against the walls. Yume walked to the nearest one. It came to her waist and had three drawers. There were some objects on top of it. It appeared to be framed pictures but you couldn't see them because of the dust. Yume picked up one of them and blew the dust off. She had to cough because she inhaled some of it. The picture showed Minato as a young adult with his genin team, Kakashi, Rin and Obito. Yume repeated her actions with the two other frames. The second was a picture of when Minato was a genin himself with his two teammates and his sensei, Jiraiya. The third one was one with only Minato and Jiraiya, both smiling widely. Minato's smile was just like Naruto's. Or maybe it was the other way around? She put the pictures back on top of the cabinet and followed Naruto's footprints in the dust. He had gone to the kitchen first. It was pretty big as well with a cooking island and all. The furthest wall was almost completely out of glass, it was a sliding door that gave access to the overgrown garden. She gazed back at the ground and with a smile followed the footprints again. She left the kitchen and went to the stairs, going upstairs. When she reached the top she was about to call for Naruto, but then she noticed him at the end of the hallway, standing in front of an opened door. Yume walked towards him and was just about to open her mouth when she saw the expression on his face. He was crying. She rushed over to him, grabbing his arm.  
"Naruto, what's wrong?"  
Naruto didn't answer nor did he look at her, he just kept staring into the room. Yume shifted her gaze from her crying boyfriend to the opened door and saw what had made Naruto cry.  
"Oh god…"

Well people that's it for now, sorry for the cliffy, couldn't help myself. I know I'm horrible. I will try to lessen your pain and update soon but again … can't promise anything. At least now you know what happened between Naruto and Kurama after the 'do you hate me, question'. If you have questions or just a remark, don't hesitate to review. See you in the next chappie.


	4. A forgotten room

A/N: hey everyone. Yes I know, shame on me. It's been like 2 months since I last updated, I'm sooooo sorry. Especially because I ended the last chapter with a cliffie. Well anyway here's the new chapter. Enjoy!

**Chapter 4: A forgotten room**

Yume stared into the room. It was dark, because the window didn't let any sunlight in.  
She swallowed hard and looked up at Naruto. Tears were rolling down his scarred cheeks. He was crying in complete silence. Yume was worried that he might have been in shock. She placed a hand on his neck, which was wet from the tears.  
"Naruto…"

It was barely a whisper. She wondered whether Naruto had heard or not. He looked her in the eyes, showing her that he _had_ heard.  
Yume gave him a reassuring smile and then shifted her gaze back to the room.  
Despite the darkness that clouded the room, Yume could still make out some shapes. The window was right across from them. On their right was a low cabinet with a lot of drawers and some dusted up stuff standing on top of it. Next to that cabinet, there was a garbage bin and on the other side of the room stood a large closet. There were stuffed bears laying on the ground and a crib was placed in the middle of the room. This was a baby room. This was supposed to have been Naruto's room. This is where he was supposed to have slept, where his parents would have tucked him in. The room his parents would have come to when he was crying and needed attention. Where his mother would have sung a lullaby to suit the crying child. The room his father would have visited every night after finishing his work to give his son a goodnight kiss. This room would have changed over the years. It would have become a toddler's room, then a child's room and eventually a teenager's room. Then everything would have been boxed up as the adult Naruto would have left the house. Over the years he would occasionally have come back to visit his parents and he would have visited the room, remembering all the good times he had had in that room.

Yume couldn't help it, tears were now streaming down her face as well.  
She jumped in shock when all of a sudden a hand touched her cheek, wiping away the trail of tears.  
Yume looked up at Naruto, seeing his worried face. His eyes were red and puffy and even though the crying had lessened, now and then the occasional tear would still escape his eye sockets. Yume was a bit mesmerized by the sight of Naruto. When he cried he was even more beautiful. His brilliant eyes sparkled even more due to the tears and his eyelashes were darker and thicker because the tears caused them to stick together. Yume forgot where she was for an instant, completely hypnotized by those blue orbs, until a soft voice broke the spell.  
"Yume, why're you crying?"

She blinked a few times, causing more tears to flow down her face, only to be caught by Naruto's lingering hand. She swallowed hard, grabbing his shirt tightly.  
"Stupid question." She whispered, her voice barely audible, before continuing a little louder.  
"Of course I'm crying. I love you, you moron. It saddens me just as much as it saddens you. …Knowing how much effort your parents put into this room. Knowing how happy they were and how much they already loved their unborn son. How much they were anticipating your arrival, only to never be able to actually bring you to this room….to take care of you….to be a family."  
Yume was sniffling, not able to look Naruto in the eyes.  
The blond's eyes softened and a small smile crept onto his face. _Oh God, I love this girl. _He shifted his hand from Yume's cheek to her neck and then laid his arm over her shoulders, pulling her closer. He added his other arm as well, pulling her in a warm embrace. He hid his nose and mouth in her hair on top of her head. Yume could feel a warm liquid falling on her crown, but she didn't mind at all. She threw her arms around Naruto as well, tightening the hug. After a while Naruto brought his mouth to Yume's ear and whispered. "I love you too."  
It made Yume giggle and smile. She looked up at him and their lips locked. It wasn't a soft quick kiss, but a deep heated one. Their tongues were fighting a fierce struggle, dancing with each other. Both their eyes were closed. Hands roamed over their bodies, seeking pieces of naked skin. Yume buried her fingers in Naruto's golden gravity defying hair. The blond grasped her waist, forcing her closer against his body. Their kiss deepened even more, trails of saliva ran down their chins. Yume broke the kiss off and started tracing Naruto's neck with kisses. That night they made love in the dusted up hallway of their new home.

_-*∞*-_-*∞*-_ (not a flashback, but different scenery)

Shikamaru was on his way to Chouji's place to inform him of the gathering that would take place tomorrow. He had already come across Neji, Tenten and the two spandex-loving morons. He had found Kiba, Hinata and Ino on a training ground and Chino on the Aburame clan's ground. He would inform Tsunade later that day and ask her to inform some senseis he wasn't able to find.  
Shikamaru reached the Akimichi's house and knocked on the door. It took a while but then finally the door opened, revealing a smiling Chouza Akimichi.  
"Ah, Shikamaru. It's nice to see you. Chouji should still be in the garden at the back."  
Shikamaru walked into the house, which felt like a second home to him, thanking Chouza, who was like a second father to him and went straight for the garden. It wasn't hard for him to find his way around the house, since he practically grew up there. He could have found the garden blindfolded. He spotted his big friend almost immediately, sitting under one of the four trees that garnished the yard. Shikamaru lazily walked towards him, his hands in his pockets. Chouji heard him approaching, turning his head in the direction of the sound. A big smile decorated his face upon seeing his best friend.  
"Hey Shikamaru, long time no see."  
Shikamaru snorted with a small smile on his face.  
"Yeah right, you saw me yesterday."  
Chouji laughed aloud, holding his hand over his belly.  
"Yeah, we see each other almost every day."  
Shikamaru sat down next to Chouji with his legs slightly crossed.  
"Well today I came with an actual reason."  
That spiked the big guy's interest, raising his eyebrows.  
"There's gonna be a gathering tomorrow in the afternoon, around 2 o'clock on training ground 14. That's only the meeting spot though, afterwards we're gonna go grab a bite to eat, maybe barbecue."  
That definitely caught Chouji's attention. A big toothy smile appeared on his face.  
"Really? Who's treat is it?"  
"That's a surprise."  
Chouji frowned.  
"A surprise? You mean the person who is treating is a surprise?"  
Shikamaru nodded. "Basically, yeah."  
The big brunet was confused.  
"Is the gathering like a party or something?"  
Shikamaru thought about that for a moment before answering.  
"I guess you could call it that."  
Chouji was thinking really hard. _What was it. A birthday party, a victory party, a welcome back party….  
_This is where Chouji hesitated for a second. A welcome back party? There was only one person that came to mind who they could welcome back and that definitely wasn't the Uchiha.  
Chouji smiled remembering the happy-go-lucky, bright blond, always smiling friend they'd been missing for almost two years now. Was he finally returning?  
He was excited and turned to Shikamaru.  
"Is it Naruto?"  
The lazy brunet's eyes widened. He was surprised that Chouji figured it out so quickly. Well, he shouldn't really be that surprised, Chouji wasn't as stupid as most people thought he was. He was actually a very rational thinker. Shikamaru decided to tell him the truth as a sort of reward for figuring it out.  
"Yeah, it's Naruto."  
He could see Chouji's face get even more excited.  
"He came back. I bumped into him earlier today and he asked me to gather everyone."  
Chouji took a deep breath, having a very nostalgic line of thoughts. He had missed that blond, everybody had. When Naruto wasn't around, the world somehow felt less…bright. Like the sunlight had been stolen from them. Even though they all called him an idiot or a moron daily, Naruto was probably one of the bravest people he knew. He would always risk his own life in order to save someone else's. And despite having had an awful life as a kid, he was always the one with the biggest smile. The one with the encouraging words and memorable actions.  
Chouji couldn't wait to see him again tomorrow. He was curious how strong Naruto had become. He had already been one of the strongest shinobi currently alive before he left the village. How much stronger could he possibly have become?  
"Did he change a lot?"  
Shikamaru had a faraway look in his eyes, recalling the current Naruto.  
"Yeah, he changed. It seems like he matured not only physically, but mentally as well."  
When Shikamaru noticed the confused look on Chouji's face, he decided to explain things a little more.  
"He got taller, that's for sure. He's like half a head taller than me now. He's still very blond, though his hair seems a little longer than it used to be. Oh and most importantly, it seems like he finally grew out of the orange jumpsuits. Man that's such a relief, those things seriously hurt my eyes."  
Chouji and Shikamaru laughed out loud together.  
"His face became sharper too. If you ask me, he's becoming quite the young heartbreaker."  
"Heartbreaker?"  
"Yeah, he's gonna break a lot of girls' hearts."  
"Wha, he actually became handsome enough for that?"  
Shikamaru snorted and smiled at Chouji. He nodded very slowly, absentmindedly.  
Very softly, barely audible he talked to himself.  
"He's starting to look so much like _him._"  
"Mmmmh? Did you say something?"  
Shikamaru slightly shook his head. "Nothing."  
He took a deep breath and breathed it out slowly.  
"Nothing at all."

Back at the house in the woods, Naruto and Yume had started cleaning the place up. Naruto had made 40 shadow clowns. 20 were working in the yard and cleaning the house outside, while the other 20, Naruto himself and Yume were cleaning the inside of the house. They'd been going all out and after barely an hour more than half of the house was clean. The kitchen was spotless so now they could at least cook meals and the living room was completely dust-free as well. Yume had decontaminated the bathroom and had headed upstairs after that. Naruto strolled upstairs and winded up in a clean hallway. Well half-clean, looks like Yume stopped sweeping in the middle of the hallway, where the door to the baby room was. The blond stopped in the doorway and observed the redhead. She was holding a stuffed bear. It was sallow blue and dog-like with a faded red bow around the neck. Yume had a small smile on her face as she stared at the stuffed animal. The place was cleaner now, too. The floor was shining again and the crib looked somewhat white again. Naruto leaned against the doorpost with his arms crossed, just watching Yume as she cleaned the place. Surprisingly enough she still hadn't noticed his presence. She walked from the cabinet to the crib and placed several stuffed animals in the crib, then she went back to the cabinet and dusted it off. While cleaning the place up that smile never left her face. She started humming, dancing a little on the rhythm of the tune, swaying her head from left to right with her eyes closed. Naruto smiled and turned around, heading to the yard to check on the shadow clowns there. Barely a _second_ after he turned his back to Yume she moved her hand up and gently placed it on her belly. Her hips were swaying very slowly as she rubbed her belly with a faraway and happy look on her face.

Shikamaru was lying on his back, watching the passing clouds with great satisfaction. His crossed arms supported his head while the grass tickled the naked skin of his arms. Next to him, Chouji was devouring a pack of chocolate chip cookies.  
"How did he change mentally?"  
Shikamaru turned his head slightly toward the sound of his best friend's voice.  
"Mmmhh?"  
Chouji gazed at him, awaiting his answer.  
"Naruto. You just said that he changed not only physically but mentally as well. How did he change mentally?"  
Shikamaru stared back at the sky, following a cloud that looked like a shuriken.  
"well, like I said, it seems like he matured somewhat. When I saw him a couple of hours ago he was wearing mostly black and dark blue clothing. He's not as loud as he used to be. It seems he's a little more reserved. I'm sure he became stronger as well. I mean, he did train for two years. But the biggest change is probably that he's maintaining, what looks like a steady relationship with a girl."  
When hearing that last part, Chouji almost suffocated on one of his cookies out of shock. It took him some time to clear his throat and cough up pieces of chocolate.  
"A relationship? You mean as in…a girlfriend?"  
Shikamaru nodded lethargically.  
"Yeah, a hot redhead."  
Chouji shook his head with an amazed expression on his face. He snorted and smiled, leaning his head back against the tree.  
"Well, I guess I shouldn't be that surprised."  
Now it was Shikamaru's turn to be interested.  
"How come."  
"Well, I know that we always made fun of Naruto when we were kids and that we always called him a moron and stuff, but I really respect that guy. Especially since that giant battle against Pain. That was the first time I realized that guy is in a league of his own. The first time that I was absolutely sure that he _would _be able to surpass all the previous hokages. If you seriously think about it he's a great guy. He's unbelievably kind and thoughtful of others. He's strong and reliable. I think any girl would be lucky to have him."  
Shikamaru genuinely smiled while listening to his friend's thoughts of the bright blond. Every single thing that Chouji had said was true. Naruto would indeed be quite the catch. It's unfortunate that not a lot of people have realized that yet, but they would soon enough. Once they see the current Naruto they'll definitely think twice.  
Chouji interrupted Shikamaru's thoughts.  
"But isn't Sakura in love with Naruto?" Shikamaru gazed at Chouji and saw a concerned look.  
He sighed, thinking of all the drama that was awaiting them.  
"Yeah, unfortunately for her, Naruto seems to be really happy with this girl and I believe they're serious about each other. Sakura was just too late. She realized that she loves him right after he left and now he's in love with another girl."  
Chouji felt bad for Sakura, so did Shikamaru.  
"Well, if you ask me she's had more than enough chances to be with him. He used to be crazy about her, but she always rejected him 'cause she was in love with Sasuke."  
"That girl really does not have any luck when it comes to love."  
Shikamaru could only agree with that statement.

Naruto and Yume were walking through their forest (a large part of the forest surrounding the house is part of the property) in the direction of the village. Naruto was taking Yume to some of his favorite places in Konoha. They were dressed lightly since the air was still warm due to the heat during the day. Yume wore a knee long light green dress. She had braded the long bangs that usually hung next to her face and had tied those together at the back of her head. Naruto wore long black ninja pants and a white t-shirt with short sleeves. He wasn't wearing his forehead protector so his hair hung loosely next to his face. Some of the longer bangs dangled in front of his eyes. He hadn't worn his hitai-ate for quite a while. During his travels people kept on asking him questions about it so he decided to take it off. Now he was used to not wearing one and seldom did. While walking through the forest, they were holding hands. The thirteen bracelets on his left arm still in place. Yume was playing with one of them, made out of green rope. There were three pearl's made from iron imbedded in the bracelet. The pearls were round and garnished with swirly patterns. Seeing the bracelet, Yume's thoughts wandered off to were that bracelet came from.

_-*∞*-_-*∞*-_ (flashback)

It was an incredibly hot day. There were no clouds to stop the merciless sunbeams and no wind to cool the stifling air. The young couple was walking on a sand road, with no trees, so no shadows. The sand was burning hot, they could even feel the heat through their shoes. Yume was wearing blue shorts and a light pink top. Naruto wore short pants and no shirt. He had started the day wearing one, but as the hours crept forward and the heat kept rising, he had taken the thing of and he had bound it around his head. It looked somewhat like a turban. It looked ridiculous, but in an amusing way. Yume had just come to terms with the fact that she was gonna die of dehydration and sunburns, when Naruto called out to her. She looked up from her dragging feet and gazed at her boyfriend, who was several feet ahead of her, standing on a small hill. He was waving at her and pointing at something in the distance.  
"There's a village, Yume! There's a village !"  
Yume could almost cry out of sheer happiness, as she came to a stop next to Naruto, seeing the tiny village before them. With newfound energy they ran to the village, looking for water. They arrived at the place, walking through the empty roads, immediately noticing that something wasn't right about this village. _Where were all the people?_  
Yume grabbed Naruto's left arm, brushing against the five bracelets he had gathered so far.  
"Naruto, where is everyone?"  
Naruto gazed around with a concerned and attentive look on his face, wondering the same thing. It was obvious that people still lived here, since the place was clean. It was just deserted. No shops were opened for business. All the houses were completely sealed off. Wooden planks were nailed down over the windows, covering them up. All the doors had the same sign painted on them. A giant 'X'. Yume was still clamping onto Naruto.  
"Naruto, why are there red X's painted on those doors?"  
The blond walked over to one of the doors, leaning closer to touch the red paint, when he noticed the smell. He pulled his head back a little and grimaced.  
"It's not paint. It's blood."  
Yume's eyes grew big, as she kept on staring at the 'X' with a disgusted expression on her face.  
"It's not human blood, is it?"  
Naruto turned his head away from the tainted door to look at Yume and shook his head.  
"No, it smells more like animal blood."  
Yume felt a little relieved after hearing that, but they still didn't know why the X's where there in the first place.  
"I can hear people talking, whispering, inside the houses. They know we're here but they seem too afraid to open the door."  
Yume frowned, having a concentrated facial expression. She walked to the middle of the road, gazing from the houses on the left side to the houses on the right side.  
Suddenly she started yelling, loud enough to make sure that the people in the village could hear her.  
"HELLLOOOO. Is there someone who could tell us what's going on here?"  
There was no immediate response, no doors opening or voices calling out.  
"Please, we might be able to help you. Naruto over here is a fully trained and very skilled shinobi. He can help you with why ever you're locking yourselves up in your homes."  
This time a few doors hesitantly opened up, revealing frightened but curious people. One older man stepped outside, but did not allow himself to go further than 6 feet from his house. The man looked afraid but there was hope written all over his face. All the villagers looked hopeful. Hoping that Naruto and Yume would be able to help them. The older man was the first to speak up.  
"Can you really help us?"  
Naruto's eyes wandered across the village.  
"Yeah, if you could tell me what it is you're afraid of."  
The man had a terrified look on his face when he spoke.  
"It's the Beast!"  
Naruto and Yume gazed at each other, both interested in the story.  
"The Beast?"  
The villagers all nodded, looking around with frightened eyes, scanning the surrounding fields to make sure the Beast wasn't around. Several villagers started to talk.  
"Yes it's a giant black monster. It started to attack our villagers about a month ago."  
"It has already killed 13 of us."  
"It's super strong."  
"It only attacks us humans, never our livestock."  
"Please help us."  
"My son, it killed my son!"  
"Save us."  
"Kill it!" By now everyone was screaming and complaining at the same time. Naruto raised his arms, waving them, telling everyone to calm down. They stopped screaming, all staring at Naruto with great expectation.  
"Okay so there's a giant animal attacking you and killing you, without killing any of the animals."  
He sighed and then smiled.  
"When does this … Beast.. usually come to the village?"  
"At night."  
"He kills people at night."  
"Breaks in the houses."  
"Mangles the bodies."  
"Can't recognize them anymore."  
Once again Naruto had to calm everyone down so he could speak up.  
"Okay. Okay. I'll stay outside tonight, waiting for it to come out. Can someone take this girl (pointing at Yume) inside your house for tonight?"  
Everyone started to withdraw back to their houses. Yume was allowed to go with the older man who had been the first to say something. His wife and two young children accepted Yume into their home with open arms. When everyone was safely inside their houses, Naruto could finally relax. He sighed heavily. He doesn't mind helping them out, in fact he loves to help people. It's just that he has a hard time dealing with all the commotion and screaming, because of his sensitive senses. It gave him headaches. He did understand though that these people were just terrified. It seemed like a pretty serious case. The sun had almost completely disappeared behind the hills and the shadows crept onto Naruto. He sat down with his legs crossed, waiting for this Beast that kills innocent people. The town was death silent. The only things Naruto could hear were the wind and the grazing of the livestock. He closed his eyes and concentrated only on what his ears, nose, taste and touch told him, just as Kurama had taught him.

_-*∞*-_-*∞*-_ (Yes, this is a flashback in a flashback)

"Today I'm going to teach you how to use your new senses. Because now we're more connected, your five senses will notably intensify. You will have a sense of smell similar to if not better than that dog-boy. You will be able to hear things at least ten times louder than before. You will see more, better and further. Your skin will be very sensitive to touches and you'll be able to taste things you never even knew existed. Trust me, ramen will never be the same. Have you noticed any of these changes yet?"  
The giant orange fox was sitting up with Naruto laying on top of his head. He looked up to where Naruto was, but he wasn't in his field of vision. Then he felt movement. Naruto slid down between Kurama's eyes and sat on his nose with his legs crossed.  
"I have noticed a few things. I have more headaches now because the light seems to bother me more now and I also noticed that when I go to sleep and everything's quiet, my ears often hurt. The wind feels colder than it used to and the sun seems warmer as well. I do smell more, I think. Lately ramen has been tasting better and better, I just thought it was the ramen itself."  
"Yes, your senses are more intense but you could heighten them even more."  
Naruto was unsure.  
"Wouldn't that be even more bothersome. I already have problems with my ears and eyes."  
"No, I won't only teach you how to fully use your senses but also how to mask them, so it won't be painful for you."  
Naruto nodded, liking the idea now.  
"Okay, let's begin."  
"Using your senses to the fullest will all depend on your state of mind, your mental condition. You have to concentrate on one of your senses and block all the rest out. In the beginning it will be pretty difficult, but after a while it'll be natural. Then the difficult part will be to mask your senses, so you won't experience any pain. For that you will have to use chakra. Once your senses are at its maximum it is possible to heighten them even more, by concentrating chakra into one of your senses. Understood?"  
Naruto was wearing a big smile and nodded. "Yes sir."

_-*∞*-_-*∞*-_ (end of this flashback)

Naruto sat with his legs crossed on the sandy road. The air had cooled down a bit but it was still warm from the extreme heat during the day. He had taken the shirt off of his head and had put it back on. His eyes were still closed, concentrating on everything around him. Then he dropped the chakra barriers that protect him against his own senses. He was attacked by everything at once. The wind wasn't only cold anymore, he could feel all the different levels of cold and warmth. He could feel the grains of sand pushing against his legs and the fabric of his clothes rubbed against his skin. His hair tickled his forehead and neck and the bracelets on his arm felt heavier. Naruto could hear voices coming from the houses, whispering. Now he could even hear the livestock breathing. The blond could smell the animals and the nature. The acrid smell of blood coming from the doors, made him turn up his nose. He took deep breaths to smell and taste as much as possible. Naruto sat there in utter concentration for several hours when he suddenly picked up a strange sound. _A whistle?_

It sounded like a flute or something, whistling a certain tune. Short-long-long-short-short. Right after Naruto noticed the flute, he could hear something big running towards him, breathing heavily. A few feet ahead of him the running stopped. Then the growling started. Slowly Naruto stood up, completely relaxed and not in the least bit scared. He opened his eyes and was as always surprised at the sheer amount of things he could see. Even though it was nighttime, his amazing vision allowed him to see as well as he would during daytime. What he saw was a wolf. A giant black wolf. It's golden eyes lit up in the darkness, focused on Naruto. Its head was low, the hair on its back stood up and its tail swished from left to right. Low snarls rolled out of the beast's mouth, showing a row of white razor-sharp teeth. Its claws were buried into the sand. The animal started to step left and then back to the right. It gave Naruto the impression that it was nervous. And then when Naruto looked it in the eyes, he saw it. Fear. This giant terrifying creature was afraid. _Of What?_  
Naruto frowned, observing the wolf's behavior, cocking his head to the right a bit. It didn't look like it was going to attack. It kept on jumping from left to right, looking at Naruto, not seeming to know what to do. It was still growling, but seemingly more like a warning. Like it was saying not to come any closer. Naruto decided to experiment a little, he had a hard time believing that this animal would just attack someone for no reason. _Or is it because it's me? Maybe it's able to sense my abilities or… Maybe it senses you, Kurama.  
_**'I doubt it kid, even another jinjuuriki has a hard time sensing a tailed-beast. You're not giving of any demonic chakra right now, so that's definitely not it, but this does smell fishy.'  
**The blond took one step in the wolf's direction and was immediately answered with a much louder snarl. Naruto narrowed his eyes, taking another step. The black creature jumped back, growling. Naruto could even smell its fear now. It confused him. _If this is the monster that attacks people then why is it so afraid of me?_ He decided to try to talk to it, to try to calm it down. He held up his arms with his palms turned towards the wolf. He spoke with a soft and gentle voice.  
"Hey boy, it's okay. If you don't harm me, if won't harm you? I promise."

The black wolf stopped jumping around nervously and gazed at Naruto with an insecure look. Naruto stepped closer and closer, very slowly, speaking to it with a reassuring tone. The animal started to roll itself in a ball. Its tail between its legs and his head very low. It took little steps backwards, away from Naruto till it hit a wall with its behind. The wolf cringed, making itself as little as possible, staring at the blond with big frightened eyes. Several feet away from the animal, Naruto crouched, still talking to it. After a few minutes it seemed to calm down a little and looked at Naruto with curious eyes, sniffing the air with its giant black nose. The blond shinobi smiled at the creature, liking it more and more by each passing minute. Suddenly Naruto heard that whistle again and surprisingly enough the wolf responded to it. Long-long-short-long-short. The wolf gazed at Naruto. Its frightened, but curious golden eyes were replaced by ominous black ones. It stopped shivering and stood up with sudden newfound courage. It wasn't hard to figure out for Naruto. The animal itself was harmless, but there seemed to be someone controlling it behind the scenes. A different tune soon followed. Short-short-short-long-short. The wolf leaped, growling and exposing all of its teeth. Naruto quickly jumped out of its way, landing several feet further. The black beast immediately followed him, attacking him relentlessly.

The blond leaned to the side when it jumped at him and then grabbed it by its neck, throwing it on his back. It quickly got back up, shaking off all the sand and attacked once more. This time Naruto braced himself, leaning a little forward, awaiting the creature, awaiting the perfect timing. When the timing was finally there he swung out his right arm, striking the creature against the side of its head, hard. The wolf yelped and flew against one of the houses. Shaking its head, it got back up and gazed around with a confused look on its face. When it looked at Naruto, he noticed that the eyes were normal again. The fear and confusion were back. The animal backed away, turned around, jumped onto one of the houses and then disappeared into the night. Naruto decided not to follow it, it'd probably be back in a few days. The blond immediately put his chakra barriers back up. It wouldn't be the first time he forgot to put them back up and experience the painful consequences. One of the doors flew open and a worried redhead sprinted out of it. Running straight to Naruto and hugging him tightly.  
"Are you okay? You're not injured, right?"  
She let go of Naruto to look him in the eyes. His clothes were covered with sand and his t-shirt was ripped, but there didn't seem to be any injuries.  
"I'm fine, but we might have to stay here a while."  
Yume frowned. "What do you mean?"  
"I mean that this case is a little more complicated than we initially thought."

Sorry, but this is it for now. I wanted to make this chapter longer but if I do that then I wouldn't be able to update in at least 2 weeks. So you're gonna have to survive with this for a while. Next time we'll continue with the flashback and Naruto will make a new friend.


End file.
